Mattress or mattress covering of novel shape

ABSTRACT

A mattress or mattress covering of novel shape having form fitting supports for the head, elbows, lower back and feet in more than one position for supporting the body of a person recumbent thereon, in a given manner for medical relaxation, pleasure and hygienic purposes.

ied States Patent 1 1 Rodriguez [4 1 Oct. 29, 1974 1 MATTRESS OR MATTRESS COVERING OF NOVEL SHAPE [76] Inventor: Paul L. Rodriguez, 2116 Center St.,

Garden City, Kans. 67846 [22] Filed: Aug. 13, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 388,038

[52] US. Cl. 5/327 R, 5/345 [51] int. Cl A47c 21/00, A47c 23/00 [58] Field of Search 269/328; 128/80; 297/218; 5/327 R, 327 B, 91, 345, 361, 338

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS Faget et a1, 5/345 R Viel 5/345 R Munch 5/345 R Primary Examiner--Paul R. Gilliam Assistant Examiner-Andrew M. Calvert Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Warren F. B. Lindsley [57] ABSTRACT A mattress or mattress covering of novel shape having form fitting supports for the head, elbows, lower back and feet in more than one position for supporting the body of a person recumbent thereon, in a given manner for medical relaxation, pleasure and hygienic purposes.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures MATTRESS OR MATTRESS COVERING OF NOVEL SHAPE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Numerous devices have been developed for supporting the peripheral portions of the body when reclining especially when attempting to relieve stresses on particular portions of the skeletal structure. Those confined to bed for a long period of time, or those afflicted with periodic back discomfort find relief in a change of position. The change of position reorients the stress pattern on the skeletal structure relieving the sore or troublesome areas.

Further, in the most private facet of family life, there is many times the need and desire to support the back of a reclining person in a given manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention claimed an improved elongated body support is provided which may be a supporting framework such as a mattress or a flexible covering for a mattress having one or more form fitting body supporting protrusions integrally formed therewith which may be placed on or over a bed or any other supporting surface for the body supporting structure.

It is, therefore, one object of this invention to provide an improved elongated body supporting structure.

Another object of this invention is to provide a covering for a supporting surface which contains integral contoured supporting protrusions for various portion of the reclining body.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved back support which is particularly adapted to use on a soft resilient surface such as a bed.

A still further object of this invention is to reorient the body structure on a supporting surface through the aid of a contoured mattress or mattress covering.

A still further object of the back support disclosed and claimed is to align the user in a proper position obtain the maximum therapeutic affect.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize this invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming part of this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The present invention may be more readily described by reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is perspective view of a contoured mattress or covering therefore and embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial cross sectional view of FIG. 1 taken along the line 2 2;

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a left end view of the structure shown in FIG. 1;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more particularly to the drawing by characters of reference, FIG. I discloses a mattress 10 in the form of a rectangular frame formed of any suitable material and designed like any of the known mattress in the market place. Mattress l differs from the known prior art by having formed integral therewith a plurality of cushions formed of any suitable material such as, for example, foam rubber or foam vinyl plastic.

As shown in FIG. 1, a U-shaped head rest 12 is provided at one end the mattress approximately at the center of its width which is contoured to receive and support the head and back of the neck of a person reclining on his or her back.

A pair of arm rests l3 and 14 are provided on the top surface 15 of the mattress one on each side of the head rest 12. These arm rests are of a U-shaped configuration and so spaced and positioned that the elbows of the user are positioned in and supported by the arm rests in a direction angularly of the longitudinal axis of the mattress.

A back and hip support 16 molded of a one piece construction of sufficient strength to support the user without flexing or otherwise changing shape is provided substantially in the center of the mattress adjacent the arm rests.

Referring to FIG. 3, the convex contour of the back support is so formed that the high point or surface 16A occurs generally at the hip of the user. In this manner the back of the user reclines on the sloping part or surface 17 of the back rest. Much of the weight of the user is concentrated on the back rest and accordingly it must be of substantial size to insure rigidity and to provide maximum therapeutic value of the support. F urther, the size of the back support aids in distributing the load thereby preventing sinking of the back support in the resilient surface of the mattress.

Two pairs of foot rests 18, 18' and I9, 19 are provided for supporting the feet of the user in two different positions. The cushions 18, 18 have foot engaging surfaces 18A and 18B which converge inwardly of the mattress for comfort and to allow ample freedom of the legs of the user to move laterally when desired.

It should be recognized that a covering for a mattress such as a blanket may be formed with the head rest, arm rests, back support, and foot rests suitably attached thereto and still fall within the scope of the invention.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a simple and improved mattress, mattress covering or back support of simple and economic construction is provided for use in or away from the home, rest homes or hospitals. The device is rigid and has a back supporting surface designed to relieve stress along the spinal column, muscle soreness and comfort. The unit is designed to support the users back to achieve optimum therapeutic results even when used in the most private facet of family life. Further, the disclosed structure is so designed that optimum results are obtained by manintaining back and head supports in a relatively predetermined stable plane with respect to a resilient surface upon which the structure is placed.

If the disclosed device is intended to be portable in its blanket configuration, it may be provided with handles at its head and foot end for ease in carrying.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and other modifications may be made to the structure shown and described without departing from the scope of the depending claims.

What is claimed is:

I. A supporting device for engaging the back of a user in a reclining position comprising:

a generally rectangular horizontal mattress of resilient material having a top surface with head and foot ends,

a plurality of body supporting members integrally formed with and depending from the periphery of the top surface of said horizontal member,

said supporting members comprising a U-shaped head rest at one end of the top surface with the opening toward the foot end of the top surface, a pair of U-shaped elbow rests spaced laterally from the head rest and toward the foot end of the top surface with their openings angularly directed toward said head rest, a back rest positioned along the longitudinal axis of said horizontal member and spaced from said elbow rests and toward the foot end of the top surface, and a pair of foot rests positioned one on each side of the longitudinal axis of said horizontal mattress comprises a resilient blanket like covering. 3. The supporting device set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said back rest is of a convex configuration. 

1. A supporting device for engaging the back of a user in a reclining position comprising: a generally rectangular horizontal mattress of resilient material having a top surface with head and foot ends, a plurality of body supporting members integrally formed with and depending from the periphery of the top surface of said horizontal member, said supporting members comprising a U-shaped head rest at one end of the top surface with the opening toward the foot end of the top surface, a pair of U-shaped elbow rests spaced laterally from the head rest and toward the foot end of the top surface with their openings angularly directed toward said head rest, a back rest positioned along the longitudinal axis of said horizontal member and spaced from said elbow rests and toward the foot end of the top surface, and a pair of foot rests positioned one on each side of the longitudinal axis of said horizontal member at the foot end of the top surface, said back rest being contoured to provide a surface sloping from a point substantially at the center of said back member toward said head rest for supporting the back of the user and a substantially flat surface for supporting the hips of the user, said supporting members being formed of a firm but resilent material.
 2. The supporting device set forth in claim 1 wherein: said horizontal mattress comprises a resilient blanket like covering.
 3. The supporting device set forth in claim 1 wherein: said back rest is of a convex configuration. 